How do you follow up a phone like the HTC One? It was only the third smartphone to garner a highly coveted five star TechRadar review and the Taiwanese firm has got a job on its hands to repeat the trick with its successor.
HTC has admitted it's working on something after a myriad leaks, rumors and suggestive benchmark results flooded onto the web - all of which appear to reference the all new HTC One smartphone.
And now UK retailer The Carphone Warehouse has spilled the beans on the new name and release date of the phone - TechRadar was told it will be named the HTC One (M8) and will be available in stores as soon as the event finishes on March 25, although only a few handsets will be available.
The development name of HTC M8 was the first to appear on several occasions, but it appears this title has confusingly been carried forward as a suffix to the launch device... HTC needed to come up with a way of differentiating with the old model, but is something that sounds so definitively like 'mate' the right way to go?
We'd previously seen the HTC One 2014, One 2, One+, One S and One Up all rumored as possible names, but "the all new HTC One" appeared to be the front runner until two UK based retailers popped the handset on their "Coming soon" pages - and now the name has been confirmed.
Meanwhile, Canadian network Rogers has also spilled the beans on the new device's specs after making its HTC One (M8) page live before the launch - d'oh!
Cut to the chase
What is it? Sequel to the 5 star HTC One - a tough act to follow
When is it out? HTC has an event on March 25 2014 and the phone will be available immediately in select stores.
What will it cost? A lot. Big phone, big money.
It looks as though we'll also see a Google Play edition of the new One (running stock Android KitKat without the Sense overlay), after HTC let slip in the description of one of its Google Play apps.
We've rounded up all the latest M8 chatter from around the web to bring you the best picture of what you may see from the all new HTC One 2014.
HTC One (M8) release date and price
After months of speculation and hearsay, the Taiwanese firm finally sent out invitations to an event on March 25 2014, which we know will signal the arrival of the all new HTC One (M8).The event is scheduled to take place in London and New York, with proceedings kicking off at 3pm (GMT)/10am (EST), rolled back one hour from the original time for some reason HTC won't tell us.
A post-MWC 2014 launch event was always looking most likely as it allows HTC to avoid the launches of the Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2, giving the new One 2 space to shine away from the bustle of a trade show.
With the Galaxy S5 doing such a good job of stealing the show at MWC it seems like this was probably a wise decision.
It looks like the new HTC One will be out of the door quicker this time round, as back in 2013 Samsung managed to announce the Galaxy S4 and get it in stores between HTC's announcement and release of the One, but it seems the brand has managed to get its manufacturing processes up to speed efficiently enough to have the phone available on the day of launch.
The statement sent to TechRadar by The Carphone Warehouse says: "The new HTC flagship device will be officially unveiled by the manufacturer at special events in London and New York earlier that afternoon.
"Shortly after, the new HTC One (M8) handsets will be transported directly from the venue of the launch announcement to six Carphone Warehouse stores in London."
We don't know whether this will herald the mass release of the new HTC One, so it could be that only a few phones go on sale on March 25 and others have to wait a few weeks.
There's no confirmation on price yet, but Mobile Fun is listing the handset at £579.99. Whether it has some inside information or whether that's just a placeholder is unclear, but we'd expect the One 2014 to go for between £550-£600 so it seems reasonable (around $975, AU$1050).
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